Shows / Fake Love Stories
Fake Love Stories
Ever wonder if that charming online stranger is too good to be true? "Love in Times of Fraud" uncovers the shocking reality behind romance scams, catfishing, and online dating deception.
We delve into true stories of victims and the sophisticated tactics used by scammers, from elaborate long cons to quick financial exploitation. Discover how these fraudsters manipulate emotions, build fake identities, and leave a trail of heartbreak and financial ruin. This podcast is your essential guide to…
Episodes
- Fake Love Stories
She Wrote "Thank You, Uncle Earl": The Earl Rice Romance Scam
She Wrote "Thank You, Uncle Earl": The Earl Rice Romance Scam A quiet Midwestern life was pierced by a single card that read "Thank you, Uncle Earl" and a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Photo That Proved She'd Been Watched for Years
The Photo That Proved She'd Been Watched for Years Fear that someone you trusted was never who they seemed-April Dempsey found a crisp photo of herself on a…
- Fake Love Stories
She Finds Her Own Face on a Tree: The Marcia O'Connor Case
She Finds Her Own Face on a Tree: The Marcia O'Connor Case A framed 5x7 photograph of a laughing woman in a hospital gown sat four feet up in a sycamore on…
- Fake Love Stories
The Dry Badge: How a Fake UN Widower Stole $211,000 from Angela
The Dry Badge: How a Fake UN Widower Stole $211,000 from Angela Fear and disbelief: a dry UN lanyard snagged above a freezing Missouri river became Exhibit…
- Fake Love Stories
She Sent Money to a Ghost: The Diane Bailey Case
She Sent Money to a Ghost: The Diane Bailey Case Fear of being fooled by someone you think you know: a tournament chess set arrives at Diane Bailey’s door, a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Red Shoe: How a Lost Oxford Unmasked a Heartbreak Scam
The Red Shoe: How a Lost Oxford Unmasked a Heartbreak Scam The quiet discovery of a single size eleven brown oxford in wet soil set off the unravelling of a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Letters in the Marsh: How "Paul" Stole Alice's Heart and Identity
The Letters in the Marsh: How "Paul" Stole Alice's Heart and Identity Fear that the person who loved you might be a lie: a plastic tote, two years of airmail…
- Fake Love Stories
The Shoebox Full of Crossed-Out Faces: How Kent Lost $10,000
The Shoebox Full of Crossed-Out Faces: How Kent Lost $10,000 Fear tightens like a noose when you realize the person who loved you may not exist: forty-one…
- Fake Love Stories
The Dock Photo, The Red Word, and the Man Who Wasn't
The Dock Photo, The Red Word, and the Man Who Wasn't Fear that the person you love is a fabrication: a framed photo in a ditch, the single red word NOBODY…
- Fake Love Stories
He Said He Was a Widower - She Lost $412,000 to Love
He Said He Was a Widower - She Lost $412,000 to Love Grief made her vulnerable: Rachel Zimmerman trusted a man she met on a private bereavement forum and ended…
- Fake Love Stories
She Sent $41,200 for Love - The Flower That Exposed Him
She Sent $41,200 for Love - The Flower That Exposed Him Fear that the person you love is a lie - and a shoebox on a park bench that smelled of perfume and held…
- Fake Love Stories
Neighbor Discovers a Dead Man's Ring Standing in Dirt: The Donald Marsh Case
Neighbor Discovers a Dead Man's Ring Standing in Dirt: The Donald Marsh Case A ring stood upright in potting soil on a porch railing - a deliberate, impossible…
- Fake Love Stories
He Learned Her Thursdays: The Voice That Stole Lauren's Trust
He Learned Her Thursdays: The Voice That Stole Lauren's Trust Fear that warmth on the phone could be a calculated trap - Lauren answered a voice that knew her…
- Fake Love Stories
He Proposed to Four Women - The Pastor Never Suspected a Lie
He Proposed to Four Women - The Pastor Never Suspected a Lie You will feel the slow, stomach-drop betrayal of small-town trust: a pristine photo in a drainage…
- Fake Love Stories
He Thought He Found Love - She Was a Stolen Identity
He Thought He Found Love - She Was a Stolen Identity A man working nights and food pantry shifts fell in love with a profile built from stolen photos, and a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Badge in the Field: How a Fake Engineer Took $11,200 from Peggy
The Badge in the Field: How a Fake Engineer Took $11,200 from Peggy Suspicion blooms from a single misplaced object: a laminated ID badge for "Roger…
- Fake Love Stories
She Heard a Singaporean - 173 Calls, One Man, $47,000 Vanished
She Heard a Singaporean - 173 Calls, One Man, $47,000 Vanished Warm coffee, a ringing phone, and a wire transfer receipt for $47,000 were the first clues…
- Fake Love Stories
A Widow Mails Her Flag: The Gail Holt Romance Scam
A Widow Mails Her Flag: The Gail Holt Romance Scam Grief made her vulnerable and patience made him convincing: a military service flag folded at a funeral…
- Fake Love Stories
She Finds a Sealed Envelope With No Stamp: The Edward Evans Case
She Finds a Sealed Envelope With No Stamp: The Edward Evans Case Fear that someone who knows your smallest routines can steal everything - a sealed envelope…
- Fake Love Stories
She Wrote It Herself: The Megan Moore Romance Scam
She Wrote It Herself: The Megan Moore Romance Scam Fear that someone you trusted was never who they seemed: a woman in a four‑thousand person town lost $6,200…
- Fake Love Stories
The Creston Mill Road Impostor: How a Diary Exposed 11 Identities
El impostor de Creston Mill Road: cómo un diario destapó 11 identidades A quiet journal found on a roadside led to a patient, three-year con that folded a food…
- Fake Love Stories
The Life Preserver Scam That Cost a Man $22,000 and His Trust
The Life Preserver Scam That Cost a Man $22,000 and His Trust Fear of being deceived by someone you let into your mornings - and your bank account - starts…
- Fake Love Stories
The Bag That Lied: How a Fake Mentor Stole a Man's Second Chance
The Bag That Lied: How a Fake Mentor Stole a Man's Second Chance Trust can feel like a lifeline after a divorce - and a kraft paper bag with a smiling photo…
- Fake Love Stories
She Vanished and Left Behind Roses: The Darlene Doyle Case
She Vanished and Left Behind Roses: The Darlene Doyle Case A small Ohio storage unit unlocked to reveal two dozen fresh red roses, a cut-crystal vase, and…
- Fake Love Stories
The Laminated Photo That Bought a Fake Love - $61,300 Betrayal
The Laminated Photo That Bought a Fake Love - $61,300 Betrayal The photo in a Harmon County woods unlocked a $61,300 online romance scam that played out over…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved My Rabbit: How a Matchmaking Scam Stole Lives and IDs
He Loved My Rabbit: How a Matchmaking Scam Stole Lives and IDs A calm routine and a treasured pet led a careful man into a trap that used stolen identities and…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved Her Voice - She Stole $87,000 From Thomas Rice
He Loved Her Voice - She Stole $87,000 From Thomas Rice He fell for a voice that sounded like care and continuity, and over ten months he wired $87,000 to…
- Fake Love Stories
The Photograph on Her Table: How Love Cost Her $101,000
The Photograph on Her Table: How Love Cost Her $101,000 Fear and sympathy collide as a photograph appears on Janet Weaver’s kitchen table the morning after she…
- Fake Love Stories
The Chess Queen, the Missing Money, and the Man Who Wasn't Real
The Chess Queen, the Missing Money, and the Man Who Wasn't Real He lost $31,000 to a man whose face was stolen from a real Duluth civil engineer and whose…
- Fake Love Stories
The Wicker Basket: How a Sweet Gesture Unmasked a Romantic Con Artist
The Wicker Basket: How a Sweet Gesture Unmasked a Romantic Con Artist Fear that the person who knows your smallest routines might be lying is immediate and…
- Fake Love Stories
The Letters That Traveled From Ghana - How Love Became $312,000 Theft
The Letters That Traveled From Ghana - How Love Became $312,000 Theft Cold, handwritten letters and Ghanaian stamps hid a slow-moving theft that took four…
- Fake Love Stories
She Gave Her Savings to a Fake Lover - Found a Post‑It Note
She Gave Her Savings to a Fake Lover - Found a Post‑It Note Fear that the person who loved you is a lie: a teacher in a small Ohio town wired more than $31,000…
- Fake Love Stories
The Valentine Left on the Bench: How a Card Unmasked a Romance Scam
The Valentine Left on the Bench: How a Card Unmasked a Romance Scam Cold evidence turned a love story into a crime: a damp unsealed envelope left on a park…
- Fake Love Stories
The Glass Bowl Trap: How Four Goldfish Exposed a Romance Scam
The Glass Bowl Trap: How Four Goldfish Exposed a Romance Scam Grief turned into a lure when a glass mixing bowl with four goldfish appeared on a backyard pond…
- Fake Love Stories
He Loved Her Tomatoes - He Stole Her House Fund Hidden in Ledger
He Loved Her Tomatoes - He Stole Her House Fund Hidden in Ledger Fear and betrayal: a handwritten binder tracked one woman’s week, and between March and…
- Fake Love Stories
The Man Who Kept Track - The Planner That Sent Him to Prison
The Man Who Kept Track - The Planner That Sent Him to Prison Loneliness and routine became the hinge that let a stranger into a careful man's life: a leather…
- Fake Love Stories
The Man in the Water: How a Fake Marine Geologist Stole $22,000
The Man in the Water: How a Fake Marine Geologist Stole $22,000 Fear that someone close is a calculated predator begins the moment a phone is found two miles…
- Fake Love Stories
Four Identical Rings, One Man's Million-Dollar Masquerade
Four Identical Rings, One Man's Million-Dollar Masquerade Fear that the person you love is fiction: four identical engagement rings discovered on a folding…
- Fake Love Stories
He Called Her Wife-Then Stole Her Widow's Heart and $14,200
He Called Her Wife-Then Stole Her Widow's Heart and $14,200 Grief made him vulnerable: a widower who volunteered weekly, kept to routines, and answered nightly…
- Fake Love Stories
The Orange Card at Tallow Pond: How a Match Became $61,000 Lost
The Orange Card at Tallow Pond: How a Match Became $61,000 Lost Fear of being fooled and the slow burn of betrayal: a Midwest man lost more than $61,000 after…
- Fake Love Stories
41-second voice message accidentally heard by a 14-year-old on a December morning
41-second voice message accidentally heard by a 14-year-old on a December morning Cold and intimate, a 41-second voice message played through a doorbell…
- Fake Love Stories
The Dry Card in the Ditch: How a Widow Lost $14,200 to a Fake Soldier
The Dry Card in the Ditch: How a Widow Lost $14,200 to a Fake Soldier Fear of being conned by someone you trust hits like a quiet betrayal: a greeting card…
- Fake Love Stories
He Pretended to Be a Dealer - He Stole a Curator's Life and Savings
He Pretended to Be a Dealer - He Stole a Curator's Life and Savings Fear that the person you trust online is faking an entire life to take everything you own -…
- Fake Love Stories
He Faked a Route, Stole Her Heart - She Lost $43,000
He Faked a Route, Stole Her Heart - She Lost $43,000 The most romantic gesture Karen Rafferty ever received was a postcard postmarked Billings, Montana - but…
- Fake Love Stories
The Fake Roman Who Bought Her Trust - And Kidnapped Her Morning
The Fake Roman Who Bought Her Trust - And Kidnapped Her Morning Fear and fascination collide: a handwritten card, a skinned-over ramekin of olive oil, and a…
- Fake Love Stories
A Voice From Nowhere: The Michael Griffin Romance Scam
A Voice From Nowhere: The Michael Griffin Romance Scam Fear that the person who loved you might be a lie: a cracked phone in a church pew led to a voicemail…
- Fake Love Stories
The Man Who Wasn't There: How "James Calloway" Stole Ruth's Last Hope
The Man Who Wasn't There: How "James Calloway" Stole Ruth's Last Hope Fear that the person who comforts you might be a lie: a cobalt-blue mug inscribed "You…
- Fake Love Stories
The Lavender Bookmark: How a Chekhov Lie Cost Her Everything
The Lavender Bookmark: How a Chekhov Lie Cost Her Everything A quiet town, a pressed sprig of lavender, and eighty-three thousand dollars wired in eleven…
- Fake Love Stories
The Mailbox Receipt That Unmasked a $91,000 Romance Scam
The Mailbox Receipt That Unmasked a $91,000 Romance Scam Fear and disbelief: a $14,000 wire receipt blowing out of a truck window led to a $91,000 romance scam…
- Fake Love Stories
He Wore Another Man's Life to Steal Her Heart-and $11,000
He Wore Another Man's Life to Steal Her Heart-and $11,000 From four laminated badges buried in a yard to a fabricated family story spoken over dinner, this…
- Fake Love Stories
The Voice He Loved Was a Lie: $41,200 and a Cottonwood Phone
The Voice He Loved Was a Lie: $41,200 and a Cottonwood Phone He lost $41,200 to a coaching account that promised health and companionship, and the phone that…
- Fake Love Stories
The Peacekeeper's Calendar: How a Rose Led to $312,000 Theft
The Peacekeeper's Calendar: How a Rose Led to $312,000 Theft Grief made her vulnerable: a single red rose left at 3:40 AM on January 9, 2019, a rose that was…
- Fake Love Stories
She Sent $4,100 to a Chessmaster - His Laptop Told the Truth
She Sent $4,100 to a Chessmaster - His Laptop Told the Truth Fear of being tricked into love and money hits like a cold discovery: a laptop found upright in a…
- Fake Love Stories
The Card in Her Mailbox: How a Fake Lover Stole $27,000
The Card in Her Mailbox: How a Fake Lover Stole $27,000 Loneliness turned into a calculated theft: a greeting card, a borrowed face, and $27,000 disappeared…
- Fake Love Stories
The Man in Chad Who Never Existed: My Two-Year Pen-Pal Lie
The Man in Chad Who Never Existed: My Two-Year Pen-Pal Lie Suspicion and heartbreak collide in a shoebox found on a loading dock at 6:15 a.m. on October 22…
- Fake Love Stories
The Photo in the Meter: How a Fake Architect Stole Jean's Life
The Photo in the Meter: How a Fake Architect Stole Jean's Life Fear that the person you love is real - until one tiny object proves otherwise. A four-by-six…
- Fake Love Stories
The Postcard That Bought a Man's Grief - $14,200 Stolen Love
The Postcard That Bought a Man's Grief - $14,200 Stolen Love Grief turned into leverage: a widower sent $14,200 to a man he’d never heard speak after a…
- Fake Love Stories
He Pretended to Grieve - I Sent Him My Last $28,000
He Pretended to Grieve - I Sent Him My Last $28,000 Grief turned into a con: a 26-year-old named Duane lost his mother and, within weeks, was talking to a man…
- Fake Love Stories
The River Card That Exposed a 9‑Year Romance Scam Kingpin
The River Card That Exposed a 9‑Year Romance Scam Kingpin A greeting card sealed in a zip‑lock bag and tied with butcher's twine was pulled from a trotline in…
- Fake Love Stories
The Missing Wedding Ring That Exposed a Romance Scam on 42 Acres
The Missing Wedding Ring That Exposed a Romance Scam on 42 Acres A missing gold wedding ring tucked inside a ceramic planter in a hackberry tree set off a…